Machine for cutting potatoes or other objects into chips or slices



June 11, ms G. J. ABBOTT 2,004,548

MACHINE FOR CUTTING POTATOES OR OTHER OBJECTS INTO CHIPS OR SLICES Filed June 13, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 11, 1935. G. J. ABBOTT 2,004,548

MACHINE FOR CUTTING POTATOES OR OTHER OBJECTS INTO CHIPS OR SLICES Filed June 15, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 G. J. ABBOTT 2,fi4,548v

MACHINE FOR CUTTING POTATOES OR OTHER OBJECTS INTO CHIPS OR SLICES June 11, 1935.

Filed June 13, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet -3 Patented June 11, 1935- i 2,004,548. a H MACHINE FOR CUTTING POTATOES on OTHER SLICES oemo'rs INTO cums on Geeffrey Joseph Abbott, London, England Application June 13, 1932, Serial No. 617,013 In Great Britain June ,29, 1931 8 Claims. (Cl.

This invention relates to machines for cutting potatoes or other objects into chips or slices and has for an object to provide amachine which, whilst simple in operation, shall be capable of cutting such objects into slices or chips with little or no bruising or crushing and which will involve the minimum of handling of said objects. I According to the present invention, in a machine for cutting potatoes or other'objects into slices or chips and having a rotary member and a stationary memben'the rotary member has at least one channel-like passage or throat, of which the portion joining the two sides thereof converges from the outer end of the throat into which potatoes or other objects can be caused to enter, towards an approximately cylindrical circumferential wall of the stationary member which wall constitutes virtually the fourth side of the throat or each of them,'the 20 circumferential wall of the stationary member carrying adjacent to a discharge slot formed therein a knife or knives, so that when relative rotation between the members takes place, the knife or knives will cut from an object lying in the throat or any of them, pieces which will pass from the machine through the: discharge slot.

Potatoes or other objects which are placed within a fixed casing can enter a throat therein as the said member rotates and will tend to pass 30:. towards the inner end of this throat so that an object which enters the throat will be carried round by this throat in contact with the circumferential wall and will be cut into slices by the knife or knives projecting inwardly from the'cir 35'. cumferential wall.

The form of the throat may vary, but preferably it is of approximately triangular or partcircular cross-section in planes 'radial to, and containing the axis of rotation of, the rotary 40. member, the circumferential wallforming one side of the triangle or a chord of the circle. Again, in order to retain the last pi ecesof a potato'or other object in position in the throat, and thus to ensure these being out or sliced by the'knife or knives and discharged, a rake may be disposed adjacent to the inner end of the throat, the end of this rake lying adjacent to, or in contact'with, the circumferential wall, means being provided for lifting the rake over the knife or knives.

The knife or knives may be arranged to out chips or slices of various sizes, shapes or thicknesses, but where the machine is adapted to cut a potato or the like into chips, two or more knives whilst are arranged in parallel planes normal to the axisof rotation of the rotating member so as to form a series of parallel slits in the adjacent face of the potato orthe'likawhile a further knife is arranged to slice offthe part or parts of the potato thus slitf' whereby chips areproduced. .5 Further, in such an arrangement, the. slitting knives are preferably staggered in relation to one another 'so'that these knives enter the potato'or "the like successively, thelslicing knife preferably being disposed. so as to cut the pota- 10 to after it has been slit by' the slitting knives.

In any case where a slicing knife-is employed, the edge bfthisknifemay be inclined to planes normal to' the ax'isof rotation of the rotary meniber 'so that' the edge of this. knife lies obliquely with respect to' its direction of travel through the potato," whereby a cleancut is ensured. For examplafwhere three or more slitting knives are provided inthe-manner described above, these slittingknives may be arranged in'staggered formation with thel' outermcst'knives disposed so as to enter the potato orthe like before the knife or knives lying between them, and the edge of the slicing knife may be V-shaped when Viewed in a direction radially of the rotary member so that the distance of the .end of each. of the slittingknives from the adjacent part of the edge of the slicing-'knife'is approximately the same, while an'inclined cutting edge .for' the slicing knife is provided." With this arrangement, the slitting knives may be' arranged so as to lie within the V formed by the two oppositely inclined edge portions of the slicing knife.

In some cases, the knife or knives maybe adjustable or replaceable so as to enable these knivest'o be'adjusted to produce chips or slices of different sizes or thicknesses, 'or to enable different'arrangements of knives to'be employed,- so as' to produce chips'or slices of different shapes orthicknesses. v

The invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings, of which:-'-'- Figure '1 shows a" power driven machine according to the invention, for cutting chips from potatoes, in part sectional side elevation;

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation on the line 2-2 of Figure 1; I

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view in which parts are broken away for the-sake of clearness;

Figuresl and 5 are, respectively, face and edge views of slitting knives and acarrier thereof,

Figures 6, 7 and8 arefragmentary sectional views, thesection inFigure 6 being taken on the 55.

l5 and a gear box I6 having loose on the main shaft I! of the machine a worm wheel; lfl formed at one side with inclined dogs l9','which co-operate with complementary dogs formed upon the contiguous face of a clutch member 2i in splined or equivalent connection with the shaft l1 and maintained in contact with the dogs Ill of the worm wheel l8 by means of a coiled com pression spring 22 co-operating at its, outer end.-

with a thrust bearing 23. It will be observed,

therefore, that in the event'of the load onthe shaft ll exceeding a predetermined.amQunt slip between the worm wheel and clutch. member 20 will be permitted according to the. position on' the shaft H in which the thrust bearing 23 is set. At its free end, the shaft ll carries the rotor of the machine.. This'rotor comprises two discs 24 an'd'25; the former of which. is fast upon the main shaft ll .and is linked. with the latter by cross members 26, aswill be. clearfrom a consideration of'l igures 1 and 2 of; the drawings.

The rotorof the machine is enclosed by a cas- I ing comprising a circumferential wall Hand end plates28 and 29. As will be'seen, thecircumferentialportion 21 of the. casingiscarried directly by the base i l of the machine, the end plate v28 being formed with a slot as indicated at 30. and being provided with lugs such as 3| at its lower end, so that it may readily be removed'from position by undoing thumb nuts 32,

shifting" it laterally and then raising it clear of v the machine. The other end plate 2.9 is adapted similarly to be'secured in position upon the base plate of the machine by thumb nuts ;33 and is formed integrally with .a feed hopper 34. s

As willbe seen from Figures 1 and 2 *cf the drawings, each: cross member. 26 of the rotor of the machine projects from the peripheries of the discs 24 and 25 in order that when disposed to one side of the casing 21 (the lefthand side' as viewedin Figure 2) the outerfacev ofthe cross member lies close. to the inner face of said casing, and from one edge of each cross member 26 there extends between the two .discs24 and 25 a member 35. of progressively enlarging channel section-which forms, together with the inner face ofsaid casing 27, a passage or throat of whichthe cross sectional area decreases from the inner end of the member-.35 tothe' outer end thereof where it joins the cross member 26... For the sake of clearness, these members 35 willhereinafter be referred to as throat members. -In practice, the rotor, comprising the twodiscs 24 and 25, cross members 26 and throat members 35,'will be formed integrally as a single casting; thedisc ZELhaving a central opening 36 from which extends outwardly an annular flange3'l, theinternal diameter of which is substantially. equal to the diameter of a delivery'opening 38 of thehopper 3 5. Thus, potatoes placed within the hopper 3 3 will fall through theopening 36 intothe casing 21 to be engaged by the throat'members35,

as the rotor is rotated, and carried round in the-- casing pressed firmly against'the inner wall of l the latter. It willbe observed from Figure2,that

the casing 21, or at least the inner surface thereof, is not truly cylindrical, for it comprises two semi-cylindrical surfaces, the lower of which is of smaller diameter than the upper, these surfaces merging into one another at one side (the right hand side of Figure 2) but being separated radially from one another at their opposite ends (at the left hand side of Figure 2). At that end of the wall, of'the casing 23 which is located nearer the spindle ll than the other, there is mounted a slicing knife 39 which extends across the fullwidth of the casing 21 and is carried by a readily detachable member. 40 adapted to be secured in position. by thumb nuts ll and formed .with a delivery. chute 42. It will be seen, there fore, that an object such as a potato carried round against the inner face of the casing 2'! by a throat member 35 will be brought to bear against the knife 39 in such manner that a layer of predetermined thickness will be sliced therefrom and fall from the'machine via the delivery chute42,

This knife 39 is all that is necessary where it isrequired merely to slice potatoes or other articles, but as the machine in question iscintcnded for cutting'such articles into chips, further slitting knives areprovided on the outer wall of the casing in advanceof the slicing knife to. These slittingknivesare indicated at 43, 44 and 45, and areshownmore clearlyin- Figures 4, 5,6, '7 and 8 of the drawings, from which it will be apparent thattheyare formed in pairs. from lengths of strip metal indicatedat 46, 47 and 48 respectively, each of, which is bent to substantially U-shaped formation and formed with cutting edges at the ends thereof2- .-These knives are secured to acerrier plate 49 by-means of a composite plate 56, built up from two complementarily stepped pieces,- secured. to the inner face of'the 'carrier'plate 49 byscrews-5 to leave betweenthe steps thereof slots through which the end portions of the knives 43; 44 and-145 extend. As in the case of themenn ber 40 carrying the slicing knife 39, this. carrier plate ,49 ofthe slitting knives-43, 44 and 45 is secured detachably to the casing 2'! by thumb nuts52 so thatthe slotted plate 50. engages. in an appropriate openingin the wall'vof the casing 21 with-its inner face flush with the inner surface of the latterand with the knives 43, 44'and 45, extending inwardly therefrom. It will be observed that these. knives '43,. 44-and 45 are arranged in substantially v-shaped formation so that only two of them at Ya time. enterapotatoc'arried round by athroat member 35,..and in' this way all possibility of the potato becoming jammed laterally inthe machine is avoided; for, were all the knives 43, '44 and 45to enterthe potato simultaneously, the consequent lateral spreading thereof would :result in the potato becoming wedged too tightly between a throat member and the-wallof the casingz'l, It will be noted that a potato-is already gripped firmly between such throat member 35- and the casing 2'! before the former carries it onto and over the knives 43, 44 and 45.. The inner ends of. the knives 43, .44 and 45 are distant from the centre of the rotor by an amount slightlyless'than the edge of the slicing knife 3.9 is distant from said centre, so that as a'potato passes the. knife 30, the portion thereof previously slit by the knives 43, 44 and 45 will be sliced therefrom; by f the knife 39 and thus chips willbe produced. This. operation-will be clear from a perusal of FiguresB, 6, '7 and 8 of the drawings.-

. As. a'potato in a throat 35 has successive slit layers sliced therefrom,itiwillmove further and further towards the smaller end of the throat member 35 and finally over the cross member 25 at that end thereof; and, with a view to ensuring that a such a thin piece of potato shall effectively be slit and discharged from the machine, the rotor is provided for each throat member 35 with what may be termed a rake member 53, prongs 54 of which are adapted to pass between the slitting knives 43, M and 45. Each rake member 53 is carried by two supporting arms 55 loosely secured pivotally to the discs 26 and 25 by means of lugs 56 extending from 'said discs 24' and 25 and carrying each a rigid pin which extends loosely through an opening in the corresponding supporting arm 55 and hasthreadedthereover a coiled compression spring 58, the pressure exerted by which, upon the supporting arm 55 tends to cause the arms 55 and the rake 53 carried thereby to move outwardly away from the centre of the rotor and is adjustable by means of nuts 59' on the threaded free end portion of the pin 5?. At its pivoted end, each supporting arm 55 is turned over to co-operate with the corresponding lug 56 as indicated at 55. It will be seen that by the springs 58, each rake 53 is urged outwardly so that the ends thereof will bear against the shoulders 58 extending around the casing 2'! at each side thereof and are of such dimensions that when the rake 53 bears thereagainst, the prongs 5 3 of the rake will extend close to the inner surface of the casing 21 but not actually contact therewith. These shoulders 68 serve as a cam for controlling the distance of the rake 53 from the axis of the rotor and it will be observed, from the left hand half of Figure 2, that just after the rake 53 has passed the slitting knives 43, M and 45, it is moved inwardly by the shoulders 58 so that the prongs 54 thereof clear the slicing knife 38.

With a view to preventing any bridging of potatoes which may occur across the opening 38 of the hopper 34 and prevent the passage of potatoes into the casing 21, there is provided at the bottom of the hopper a weighted member 6! which tends under the influence of gravity to assume the position shown, but which may be moved by the handle 62 about a pivotal mounting 53, to disturb the potatoes at the bottom of the hopper 34.

For the removal of any small pieces of potato or liquid from the casing 2'1, the latter is formed at the lower part thereof with a number of outlets 64; and within the base H of the machine, there is mounted a sliding drawer 65, the bottom of which is comprised by a layer of gauze or other foraminous material so that any liquid may pass therethrough to drain away through an outlet orifice 51 in the base i l any solid matter collecting in the drawer 55 for subsequent removal.

In order that chips or slices of different sizes may be cut by a machine according to the invention, such a machine may be provided with a number of different sets of slicing and/ or slitting knives.

It will be observed that a potato entering a throat member with its longer axis lying across the throat is far less likely to be retained therein than if it be disposed with its longer axis longitudinally of the throat; and in practice it is found that there is a tendency for a potato entering a throat member with its longer axis lying thereacross to fall as the rotary member rotates from the throat back into the base of the casing to be then picked up again by the throat and if its longer axis extend then longitudinally of the throat it will be effectively retainedvtherein. In order to. ensure that this tendency" shall occur even with small potatoes, there may, in some cases, be provided two light leaf springsinot shown) mounted at opposite sides of thethroat so as to bear on any potato .oroth'er object smaller than a certain size whichenters the throat and to position it with its longer airisv extendinglongitudinally of the latter. I x

What I claim is:- I 1. In a machine for cutting potatoes into chips,

a stationary hollowv cylindrical, part,.-.cutting radially, of the rotor to avoid contactwith'the' blades." g

, 2. Ina machine for cutting potatoes, a stationary cylindrical casing, means for delivering potatoes into the lower portion thereof, a rotor withinthe casing comprising spaced disks, bars connecting the disks parallel to the axis of the rotor, throats carried by said bars and extending toward the axis of the rotor, said throats converging toward the bars, and a knife carried by the casing. Y

3. A machine for cutting potatoes into chips including a fixed casing, into the lower portion of which the potatoes aredelivered, a rotor operative within the casing, potato-carrying throats secured to and movable with the rotor, the throats converging toward the periphery of the rotor, a slicing knife carried by the casing to which the potatoes held by the throats are presented, slitting knives carried by the casing, and rakes carried by the rotor and cooperating with the potatoes in the throats, said rakes being divided to pass between the slitting knives.

4;. A machine for cutting potatoes into chips including a fixed casing, into the lower portion of which the potatoes are delivered, a rotor opererative within the casing, potato-carrying throats secured to and movable with the rotor, the throats converging toward the periphery of-the rotor, a slicing knife carried by the casing to which the potatoes held by the throats are presented, slitting knives carried by the casing, rakes carried by the rotor and cooperating with the potatoes in the throats, -said rakes being divided to pass between the slitting knives, and means for bodily moving the rakesto avoid the slicing knife.

5. A machine for cutting potatoes into chips fit and throat for thedischarge of such potato from the throat before reachingthe blades.

6. In a machine forcutting potatoes into chips, a stationary hollow cylindrical part, cutting blades carried thereby and projecting inwardly thereof, a rotor operative within the cylindrical part, and throats carried; by the rotor andco-opcrating with the cylindrical wall of the cylindrical part to form a pocket to pick up potatoes from the lower portion or the cylindrical part and carry them into cooperation with the blades, the throats being open at their leading ends remote from the cylindrical part and closed at their trailing ends adjacent the cylindrical part and presenting a pocket gradually reduced in area longitudinally andtransversely of the throats, each of saidthroats including converging side walls and a connecting bottom wall.

7. In a machine for cutting potatoes into chips, a stationary hollow cylindrical part, cutting blades carried thereby and projectinginwardly thereof, a rotor operative within the cylindrical part, and throats carried by the rotor and cooperating with the cylindrical wall of the cylin drical part to form a pocket to pick up potatoes from the lower portion of the cylindrical part and carry them into cooperation with the blades, the throats being open at their leading ends remote from the cylindrical part-and closed at their trailing ends adjacent the cylindrical part and presenting a pocket gradually reduced in area longitudinally and transversely, of the throats, each of said throats including converging side walls and a bottom wall having its leading edge inwardly of the rotor and its trailing edge merging substantially into the peripheral edge of the rotor.

' 8. Ina machine for cutting potatoes into chips, a stationary hollow substantially cylindrical casing formed at its curved Wall with an outlet for chips, slitting and slicing knives carried by the casing and projecting inwardly thereof, means for delivering potatoes into the lower portion of the casing, a rotor mounted to rotate in said casing about an axis substantially coincident with that'of the casing and including coaxially spaced disks, a cross member parallel with the axis of the rotor joining thedisks at the peripheries thereof, and a throat between said disks and converging toward the peripheries of the latter to merge at one end into said cross rnember.

GEOFFREY JOSEPH ABBOTT. 

